Chapter XX.

St. Ambrose declares his desire that some angel would
fly to him to purify him, as once the Seraph did to Isaiah—nay
more, that Christ Himself would come to him, to the Emperor, and to his
readers, and finally prays that Gratian and the rest of the faithful
may be exalted by the power and spell of the Lord’s Cup, which he
describes in mystic language.

132. Howbeit, now
must I needs confess the Prophet Isaiah’s confession, which he
makes before declaring the word of the Lord: “Woe is me, my
heart is smitten, for I, a man of unclean lips, and living in the midst
of a people of unclean lips, have seen the Lord of
Sabaoth.”18821882Is. vi. 5. Contrast the
Vulgate—Vœ mihi, quia tacui, quia vir pollutus labiis ego
sum, et in medio populi polluta labia habentis ego habito, et regem,
Dominum exercituum vidi oculis meis; and the
LXX.—ὦ
τὰλας
ἐγώ, ὃτι
κατανένυγμαι(compuncto corde sum) ὄτι
ἂνθρωπος ὤν
καὶ ἀκὰθαρτα
χεὶλη
ἔχων…κ. τ. λ..…καὶ τὸν
βασιλέα
Κυριον
σαβαὼθ ἐιδον
τοῖς
ὀφθαλμοῖς
μου A.V. 1611—“Woe is me, for I
am undone.…and mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of
Hosts. Now if
Isaiah said “Woe is me,” who looked upon the Lord of
Sabaoth, what shall I say of myself, who, being “a man of unclean
lips,” am constrained to treat of the divine generation?
How shall I break forth into speech of things whereof I am afraid, when
David prays that a watch may be set over his mouth in the matter of
things whereof he has knowledge?18831883Ps. xxxix. 1, 2; cxli. 3, 4.
O that to me also one of the Seraphim would bring the burning coal from
the celestial altar, taking it in the tongs of the two testaments, and
with the fire thereof purge my unclean lips!

133. But forasmuch as then the Seraph came
down in a vision to the Prophet, whilst Thou, O Lord, in revelation of
the mystery hast come to us in the flesh,18841884 St. Ambrose
contrasts the appearance of the Seraph to Isaiah in a vision with our
Lord’s appearance to men in everyday life, in the flesh, see
Is. vi. 6, 7, and 1 Tim. iii. 16. do Thou, not by any deputy, nor by
any messenger, but Thou Thyself cleanse my conscience from my secret
sins, that I too, erstwhile unclean, but now by Thy mercy made clean
through faith, may sing in the words of David: “I will make
music to Thee upon a harp, O God of Israel, my lips shall rejoice, in
all my song to Thee, and so, too, shall my soul, whom Thou hast
redeemed.”18851885Ps. lxxi. 22, 23.

134. And so, O Lord, leaving them that
slander and hate Thee, come unto us, sanctify the ears of our sovereign
ruler, Gratian, and all besides into whose hands this little book shall
come—and purge my ears, that no stains of the infidelity they
have heard remain anywhere. Cleanse thoroughly, then, our ears,
not with water of well, river, or rippling and purling brook, but with
words cleansing like water, clearer than any water, and purer than any
snow—even the words Thou hast spoken—“Though your
sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow.”18861886Is. i. 18.

135. Moreover, there is a Cup, wherewith
Thou dost use to purify the hidden chambers of the soul, a Cup not of
the old order,18871887i.e.,
not of the old Dispensation—not provided for in the Mosaic
ritual; also, not belonging to the old Creation, but a pledge and
premonition of the new (Rev.
xxi. 5). nor filled
from a common Vine,—a new Cup, brought down from heaven to
earth,18881888Cf. S.
John vi. 32,
50–51. filled
with wine pressed from the wondrous cluster, which hung in fleshly form
upon the tree of the Cross, even as the grape hangs upon the
Vine. From this Cluster, then, is the Wine that maketh glad the
heart of man,18891889Judg. ix. 13. uplifts the
sorrowful, is fragrant with, pours into us, the ecstasy of faith, true
devotion, and purity.

136. With this Wine, therefore, O Lord my
God, cleanse the spiritual ears of our sovereign Emperor, to the end
that, just as men, being uplifted with common wine, love rest and
quietness, cast out the fear of death, have no feeling of
injuries,18901890 St. Ambrose seems
to refer to the phenomena of narcosis rather than those of alcoholic
inebriation. seek not that
which belongs to others, and forget
223their own; and so he, too, intoxicated
with thy wine, may love peace, and, confident in the exultation of
faith, may never know the death of unbelief, and may display loving
patience, have no part in other men’s profanities,18911891Cf.1 Tim. v. 22: μηδὲ
κοινώνει
ἁμαρτίαις
ἀλλοτρίαις. and hold the faith of more account even
than kindred and children, as it is written: “Leave all
that thou hast, and come, follow Me.”18921892 S. Matt. xix. 21.

137. With this Wine, also, Lord Jesus,
purify our senses, that we may adore Thee, and worship Thee, the
Creator of things visible and invisible. Truly, Thou canst not
fail of being Thyself invisible and good, Who hast given invisibility
and goodness to the works of Thy Hands.18931893Cf.
Col. i.
15–16.